The big day arrives for Carson City freeway

It's here. The big day for Carson City arrives this afternoon, when the freeway's northern half opens to traffic. It's a day some said would never come, yet here it is - two months ahead of the construction schedule, even if it's years behind the expectations Carson City residents had through the 1970s, '80s and '90s that they needed to plan a bypass to carry traffic around an increasingly congested downtown.

The Nevada Department of Transportation, Ames Construction, a host of subcontractors, the Carson City Board of Supervisors and Mayor Marv Teixeira and a lot of other people deserve congratulations for the monumental project.

And then there are the people of Carson City, who, along with visitors, have been forking over 5 cents on every gallon of gasoline bought here since the extra tax was approved in 1997.

It was a commitment by residents to contribute some $25 million to the $330 million project, and it gained a commitment by NDOT to continue on track to completion in 2010 of the southern half.

It also gives Carson City taxpayers a voice in the process - as if they really needed an invitation. Nevertheless, Carson City residents represented by Gardeners Reclaiming Our Waysides demanded and received a commitment to landscaping and pedestrian paths as part of the project. Since then, NDOT routinely includes such amenities - really, necessities - in its highway projects.

This is a big project in what is still, in many ways, a small town. For something as impersonal as a freeway, it will have a significant effect on nearly everyone in many personal ways, from the time it takes to drive to work in the morning to a historic shift in business opportunities.

Yes, those nickels do add up. Today, they pay off.